#ageofrevolution

What is a revolution? You probably heard this word many times in your history class, and it would often come up in your textbook. Well according to Google, a revolution is “a forcible overthrow of a government or social order, in favor of a new system”. The Age of Revolution, which lasted from the 18th -19th century, had many significant revolutionary moments. Many in which occurred in Europe and the Americas. In this episode, they cover about four of the main revolutions: The Scientific Revolution, the North American Revolution, the French Revolution, and the Haitian Revolution.

The video starts off with the Scientific Revolution. Galileo Galilei launched the Scientific Revolution, with his new invention of the telescope! Though the telescope did make him quite the celebrity, it later on ruined him, for what he discovered through the invention. He found out that our planet Earth wasn’t in the center of the universe and published about it, which angered the Catholic church very VERY much. This lead him to a sentence for life in prison of course, since the church didn’t enjoy anyone questioning their beliefs. However word of Galileo’s discovery got around, and people started doubting the church as well making this the kick start of the “AGE OF REVOLUTION” !!!

Back then, during the 18th century, Shan Jahan inherited the throne and ruled India. Shah’s way of ruling was a more open minded regime than any other place in Europe around that time. He allowed religious freedom to be practiced all throughout India. A pretty cool fact presented in this video was that the Taj Mahal was actually built in honor of Shah’s wife, Mumtaz Mahal, after her death. Once Aurangzeb took the throne, things began to change to another level. Aurangzeb was a more strict ruler, taking away the religious freedom his father has implied in the past. He didn’t enjoy freedom of thought, because he believed it could get in the way of his rule. India went downhill from there once Shah became immensely ill. Aurangzeb locked his father away in a room, hidden away from the country.  

Take a look at the United States flag. There 50 stars, which represent the 50 states we have today, and 13 stripes, which represented the 13 colonies that first started out in the East of the country. In 1773, the United States of America didn’t exist. Instead it was just 13 colonies that were from Britain. These colonies were governed by a king, about 3,500 miles away from them, and those colonies weren’t allowed to vote and had little power to make their own decisions. That all changed, thanks to the Boston Tea Party. And NO it’s not some fancy tea party hosted in Boston that serves scones and cakes, and you go a dress up and enjoy a good time gossiping with your friends there. The Boston Tea Party was a protest started by Samuel Adams, in which they believe they shouldn’t pay outrageous tea taxes. This included dumping the tea off the British ships once they docked by the harbor of Boston. This, being called “the American Revolution”, lasted for almost 8 years until the British finally decided to grant the 13 colonies their freedom and independence. After being granted that, the country wrote their own Declaration of Independence, which declared that all men are created equal!

The American Revolution had a huge impact on Europe. France had spent a fortune of money to help the Americans defeat the British, in which lead the country to be almost bankrupt. The French Revolution started off with peasants and commoners rebelling, and breaking into the Bastille prison in 1789. The king and the Catholic church began losing their power due to all the rebelling. Then they summed up the new France into three words: liberty, equality, & fraternity. They called themselves the first Republic and drafted a document, something similar to what the Americans did, called “the Rights of Man”, guaranteeing the rights to all citizens. The French Revolution ended the reign of Louis the 16th ‘s rule. After Louis’s execution (off with his head!), the revolution became uncontrollable. The words liberty, equality, & fraternity seemed to have no meaning anymore. Countless numbers were executed (off with their heads as well!) while people were trying to grab on to their power. To stop this madness, Napoleon Bonaparte crowned himself emperor, leading France into a more stabled state.

The Haitian Revolution began right after the French Revolution. For over 300 years, Africans were transported thousands and thousands of miles across the Atlantic to work as slaves. They were forced to work on plantations in North & South America and the Caribbean. The Africans were angry and decided to plot a scheme against the Europeans. In 1791, the Haitian Revolution began, and over a hundred thousand slaves revolted slaughtering over 4000 white people and burning over 1000 plantations!! In France, many people looked down on slaves, however they relied very much on them for their profits. The Haitian Revolution became a success, in which Haiti became the very first black Republic and the first independent nation in Latin America.

The “Age of Revolution” was the time for change in government. During this period, the enlightenment of all men are created equal began to spread. This video did a good job explaining the revolutions and puts a lot of focus on Europe and the Americas.